Christmas Cinnamon Candy

Don't think the little things you do when your children are small won't always be remembered. My grown son, the New Year's Baby for 1970 told me the other day that the thing he really wanted for Christmas was the Hard Cinnamon Candy I always made when he was little. I started to laugh because a friend had just told me the day before that her son said he wished he could have some of the candy I always made at Christmas. I hadn't made any in years, but who could not honor those requests. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I couldn't find any cinnamon oil. I always bought it at the drug store years ago, but they don't have it anymore. I finally found it at the Village Kitchen Shop in Lake Wales. I had forgotten how wonderful the house smelled after making the candy, and how the hot taste exploded in your mouth. Start a new tradition with your children this year, whether it be cinnamon candy or some other special thing that they will always remember.

Hard Cinnamon Candy

Mix and bring to a boil:

3 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups white corn syrup

1 cup water

2 teaspoons cinnamon oil

red food coloring

Add all ingredients to a heavy sauce pan and place on burner. Turn on high. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon. As soon as the mixture starts to boil, put in your candy thermometer. Do not stir anymore. When the thermometer registers in the middle of " hard Crack" 300 degrees, immediately remove from heat, take out the thermometer and add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon oil and the red food coloring and stir well. This must be done quickly. Pour onto a 12 x 12 piece of foil with the sides turned up and sprinkled with powdered sugar or a large cookie sheet or rectangular cake pan lined with foil. When cooled and hard, crack up and shake in a bag of powdered sugar. Store in an air tight container. Be careful when adding the cinnamon oil as vapors can burn your eyes and nose. After completely cooled crack into chunks with the back of a spoon. Put into two large baggies with powdered sugar and crack into smaller pieces. This recipe can be used for peppermint or any other type hard candy. I usually made red cinnamon and green peppermint or spearmint at Christmas. Enjoy!